Dog Sitting – Contact Us Today!

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Dog sitting is the perfect choice for dogs who can safely be allowed to roam the house in your absence.  

When you choose Coddle Creek Pet Services for your dog sitting needs, a member of the Coddle Creek Team visits with your dog at least three times per day. While in your home we give your dog companionship, fresh food & water and an opportunity for exercise & potty time. Visit our Doggy Care page for full details.

Dog Sitting – A Few of Our Happy Dogs!

dog sitting

Milo

dog sitting

Lulu with “Aunt Beth”

 

dog sitting

Jesse

dog sitting

The Harwell Trio – Coddle Creek Team Members Take Care of Luke, Daisy Mae and Trooper When We Are Out of Town

dog sitting

Belle

dog sitting

Max and Sophie

Options for Dog Sitting

We know you have lots of options for pet sitting services for your dogs when you are out of town.  Those choices range from the kid next door, the adult next door, a relative, a kennel, in home boarding, the vet’s kennel, a hobby sitter or a professional pet sitter.

No one option is hands down the best option for all pets.  Your budget may require that you ask a relative or neighbor to look after your pets while you are away. Your dogs may not have left “puppy stage” yet and require crating when not supervised. Although crating might be ok for a weekend, it’s not an ideal situation for a week long vacation. 

Your dog may experience separation anxiety and do better in an in home boarding situation. Your dog may have multiple medical issues and do better with medical boarding.

Professional Pet Sitting

Fortunately most adult dogs do great with a professional pet sitter who comes to your home to provide care for your dogs. If your budget allows it we highly recommend you opt for a professional choice whether you choose in your home professional pet sitting, in-home boarding with a professional, a professional licensed kennel or a veterinarian.

When exploring your options ask about bonding, professional liability insurance, Pet First Aid and CPR training, year round full time availability, and methods of communication while you are away.

If you live in our service area of Mooresville, NC, Mount Ulla, NC, Davidson, NC or Cornelius, NC we invite you to explore our full web site and call or email us for further information.  

If you live out of our service area we recommend you use the pet sitter locator from Pet Sitters International or National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.

Eleven Awesome Tips to Keep Your Pet From Gettiing Lost

  Here’s the Low Down on How To Keep Your Pet From Getting Lost

Pet owners post pictures and pleas for help about their lost pets on social media on a daily basis.  It’s always heartbreaking to read. There’s nothing like a little prevention to avoid the heartbreak and to keep your pet from getting lost.  Just in case the unthinkable does happen, please get your pet micro chipped and place a collar with ID on your pet.

keep your pet from getting lost

Lost Pet!

Awesome Tips to Keep Your Pet From Getting Lost

keep your pet from getting lost

Nice Catio

1. Keep your cats indoors unless you are actively supervising their time outdoors.

2. If your cats enjoy the fresh air, consider building a catio for them. The catio can be a very simple structure or more elaborate.  The catio pictured to the right was featured in Landscape Design in a Day.  Animal Planet provides plans for the DIY tribe.

3. When entering and exiting your home, do so carefully. If you enter via the garage, be sure the garage door is shut completely before entering the main part of the house.

4. When someone else is pet sitting for you remember that your cat is not as likely to come to them as they are to come to you. So ask your pet sitter to keep your cat inside.

5. If your dog has a fenced in yard, check the perimeter of the fence on a weekly basis to make sure there are no gaps or breaks in the fence. Always check your fence after extreme weather too.

6. Check the latches on the gates on the same schedule.

7. Supervise your dog while she is outside even if you do have a secure fence.

keep your pet from getting lost

Gate with Lock

8. Consider adding a lock on your gate so that any workers (utility, landscape, pesticide etc) need to check with you to gain access.

9. When walking your dog always use a leash that is 4 to 6 feet long. Attach the leash to a harness or head collar that attaches under the chin. Please see the Doggy Care page of our website for recommendations. NEVER use a retractable leash….. they are NOT safe.

10. If your dog uses a doggy door close it when you are asleep or away from home. When someone pet sits your dogs, leave the doggy door closed.  Remember that in addition to pets going missing on their own, people do steal dogs, particularly if they are unsupervised.

11. When your cat or dog is riding in your vehicle, make sure they are in a carrier or crate or harnessed in. Although studies have not indicated such devices protect your pet in a serious crash, they will keep your pet from jumping out a broken window or door. Also, unrestrained pets create a distraction that can lead to an accident.


Prevention is always the best action.  Watch for our post coming soon where we share awesome tips to find a lost pet. As a segue, we remind you to get your pet micro-chipped.  Your pet should wear a collar with ID when you leave the home with your pet. There is divided opinion regarding whether it is safe for your pet to wear a collar when at home, so you decide on that one.

It’s Easy to Pick Up the Dog Poop

How Easy is It to Pick Up the Dog Poop?

Believe it or not, incredibly easy. So what brought about this post AKA rant?  Last Wednesday afternoon Daisy Mae and I walked at Bellingham Park.  Daisy Mae and I like walking there because the basic loop around the park is approximately a mile so we can pretty easily measure how far we walked.  There’s a variety of plants for me to look at. For Daisy Mae there are lots of aromas to sniff and plenty of bunnies to stalk.  There are two neighborhoods that connect directly to the park for added variety on our walks when we feel like walking longer distances.

But when we walked last Wednesday, Daisy Mae also had lots more sniffing opportunities than usual. It seemed that every few feet we walked there were piles of dog poop on the side of the paved trail.  Certainly we were pleased the dog poop was not on the paved trail, but really folks it’s easy to pick up the dog poop!

As professional pet sitters and dog walkers Billy and I always carry poop pick up bags.  You would be amazed at the variety of bags: scented, biodegradable, printed, plain black.  They come in cute little dog poop bag purses and there are little purses to put the full bags in till you find a trash can! At Bellingham Park there is even a dog poop bag dispenser.  PhotoGrid_1421031290069

We frequently walk dogs at condominiums and apartment complexes too. And amazingly, most of them have similar dispensers located at multiple places on the property.  Those with dog parks even have dispensers mounted on the fences inside the dog parks.  It never fails to amaze me to find dog poop on the AstroTurf inside the dog parks and in the grass within a foot of the poop bag dispensers and trash cans.

You would think it wasn’t easy to pick up the dog poop. But it’s easy to pick up the dog poop.  We aren’t certain if people are just gross or are uneducated.  Being the eternal optimists, we choose to believe they are uneducated.  So we are going to lay out a few facts about dog poop.

Facts About Dog Poop

  • Pet waste left on the ground gets swept into storm drains and flows to the local waterways without being treated (NC Environmental Education)
  • Stormwater pollutants end up in the water we swim in, fish from and draw water from (Lake Norman anyone?) (Know Where It Goes)
  • Roundworms, E. coli, and Giardia are some of the parasites that can infect humans. The infectious agents can last four years (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services).
  • Attracts flies and other undesirable insects
  • Makes the yard a yucky place to play
  • Is not suitable for fertilizer or compost (Gardening Know How)
  • Can be eaten by your dogs (who later kiss you!)

I don’t know about you, but for me that last fact seals the deal. Here’s hoping everyone will pick up the dog poop when out walking in public areas as well as in their own yards.

Dogs-dress-up-for-Poop-Fairy-photo-contest

 

 

 

Take a Hike with Your Dogs in North Carolina

Take a Hike with Your Dogs

Did you make New Year’s resolutions to get fit?  Did you resolve to spend more quality time with your dog?  If so, have we ever got a host of recommendations to help you fulfill both resolutions!  Whether you call it hiking, or walking, there is an abundance of trails all over North Carolina that are dog friendly.  So, get ready to take a hike with your dog.

 

NC State Parks

Our all time favorite place to hike with our dogs is Lake Norman State Park  (http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/lano/activities.php).  We are fortunate to live near the park and often hike there with our dogs. We enjoy the Lake Shore Trail because of the frequent views of the lake.  There are several sandy beach-like areas where we can take the dogs off leash and let them fetch the tennis balls out of the water.  Just be prepared for a smelly wet dog on the ride home. We are offering true confession here that we do let our very well behaved dogs off leash briefly, but always with our leashes in hand.  When park visitors approach us on the trail, we leash our dogs and cue them to sit until the other hikers have gone past us.  We get lots of positive comments about our sweet beautiful well behaved dogs.  We heartily recommend you take a hike with your dogs at Lake Norman State Park.

Hiking at Lake Norman State Park

Hiking at Lake Norman State Park

 

Our 2nd most favorite hiking spot is Stone Mountain State Park (http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/stmo/activities.php).  When hiking with our dogs we enjoy the Widow’s Creek Trail.  The trail runs along the side of a stream for much of the way.  This trail is not heavily populated with other hikers and that enhances the serenity and peace.  That makes it a great trail for hiking with your dogs.

Tell us your favorite places to take a hie with your dog!

 

Our Own Backwoods

We are fortunate to have a wooded area on our property. Billy has created our very own hiking trails in the woods.  Our three dogs love exploring the woods off leash with us. All dogs benefit from daily walks.  Walking or hiking with your dogs increases the bond between you and your dogs. If your schedule or health does not permit walking with your dogs on a daily basis we are available to take them on a daily outing.  We will walk in your neighborhood on leash.  We are available to give your dog his needed potty break and outdoor exploration time.  Having an opportunity to get out of his own yard and sniff all the smells a few blocks away does wonders for your dog’s disposition. Call us today to arrange your free meet and greet.

 

Pack Walk to Celebrate 1st Day of Spring

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Just a walk in the park.